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Hi, I need some help changing the battery on my x5. I woke up this morning and it was completly flat so I thaught i would try charging the battery and go buy a new one after but as the baterry is completly flat I cant find a way to open the boot I CAN find a manual release for the top half but the tailgate which I NEED open to get to the battery I cannot find a manual release anywhere, so my question is , is there one? or am I just going to have to get it taken to a garage? Thank for any help in advance.

I have the same problem that I could not open the tailgate manually my battery is completely dead, by reading the owner's manual was to open the liftgate on page 189. However, when it comes to the tailgate, the diagram and the instruction is not clear, it showed some kind of release thing that could be open with a screw drive, but once I have removed the panel as the book suggested, there is not such item, only some kind of foam is in it's place where the picture nor the descriptions has even mentioned. I have read through the answers here in the foam, non is helpful because non is direct. Please could some one be more direct when answering? Thank you very much.

Hi, I need some help changing the battery on my x5. I woke up this morning and it was completly flat so I thaught i would try charging the battery and go buy a new one after but as the baterry is completly flat I cant find a way to open the boot I CAN find a manual release for the top half but the tailgate which I NEED open to get to the battery I cannot find a manual release anywhere, so my question is , is there one? or am I just going to have to get it taken to a garage? Thank for any help in advance.

Hi,

So how did you ever get your tailgate open? I have the same problem now, followed the direction of the owner's manual did not help, the diagram is not correct on when it comes to behind the trim panel, there is a layer of foam there which the book never mentioned and there as no mechanism there to open the liftgate either. Please let me know as how you resolve it.

As previously mentioned, if you can get any type of power to either a cig lighter/12 volt power adapter, or even the jump start locations in the engine bay...this should give you enough "juice" to use the central locking system to open the lower tail gate.

You can use a 9-volt battery memory savers, a portable jump start pack, or even jumper cables to a charged up car battery or other car:

(jumper cables to engine bay jump start posts - location varies by which engine you have - check your owners manual for location if you don't know where to find them)

Thank you very much for helping with all the info with pictures. They have given me lots of ideas. Non-the-less, I figured it out myself.... The drawing in the book does has an error and it is not complete with the instruction. To open the tailgate, yes, step one and two are correct, however, according to the diagram that the open element is right above the "grove" from the trunk bed for reference, that is wrong! The location of it? It is located right at the center top area where under the flash light one could see there is slight slit cut through the foam insulation material and once that slit is peel open, the opening element could be located then with the help of screw driver press down on it as the diagram instructed, the tailgate is open now. Strangely enough, the service adviser at Long Beach BMW didn't even know about it either, now that really drove me up the wall until the next day where I had to figure it out myself.

Photo's are great help. For people who dont know even while looking at the pics, the 1st release is on the left upper side with a small black cover and small open. Open enough to get your finger there. It will feel tight, but u are not breaking anything it will snap off and snap right back in once finished needing it. I pulled mine to the left slightly instead of down and it came right open. U will hear the click. Then there is the bottom part tailgate that the pic shows where u have to pry open that plastic cover. Im trying to reach my battery in order to replace it. So the cover is my next step. Very thankful to "QSilver7" for the photos.

...Im trying to reach my battery in order to replace it. So the cover is my next step. Very thankful to "QSilver7" for the photos.

You're welcome...and here's some more info if you didn't know or perhaps other may find the info useful...if you have access to the interior (cabin) andcan pop the hood...you can hook up battery jumper cables or a battery charger or other power source to the jumpstart terminals in the engine bay. This will give you enough power to electronically unlock the tailgate...but do remember that without electrical power once the battery is removed...try not to lock yourself out of the vehicle.

Also, when you start digging below the cargo floor....remember there is a mechanism to help remove the spare (a set of straps attached to a plastic bar that get's inserted into the lower tailgate...which lifts the tire out without straining your back)...there should also be another straight plastic bar velcroed around the top of the spare that you use to brace the lower tailgate once you've pulled it down to lift the spare out of its well...this bar gets lodged between the gate and body to prevent the tailgate from flipping up as you slide the spare out. Instructions are in the owners manual...and there's a video on youtube that's helpful if the manual isn't clear.

Here's link tovideo...note that they forgot to use the brace to prevent the tailgate from flipping up before you're ready....especially when reinstalling the spare. The brace can also be seen in the bottom right box in the instructions posted on the lower side of the cargo floor when lifted:

Then, don't get discouraged by the air supply dome if you have self leveling suspension...there are only 2 bolts & 2 nuts that you undo...and the entire "dome" and the 3 bars shaped into a triangle its attached to can be lifted up as one piece and set out of the way to access the battery:

(SLS dome...just undo the 2 nuts & 2 bolts...then lift entire assembly up and out of the way)

I read a lot before starting and viewed some youtube so it was easy to get the battery out for the most part. I was actually afraid to pull the emergency latch cord as it looked like a wire, but I did it with no problem. Lower part of the tailgate was a caution for me also, but again did it with no problem. I learned where the snap parts were and snapped in several places instead of just the middle. 2 snaps were harder so I placed my flat screwdriver right at the snap for those and it was good. Once I slid the cover off I let the tailgate down. Some of u could not find the latch, its behind the foam u saw. There is an open space in the latch, I placed my flat screwdriver in it and pressed left which was pushing the latch right, there was a click and the tailgate came down. Feel around in the hole of the latch until u hear a click and the tailgate loosens. Once the tailgate was down I actually slid the black cover back in place and started the removal of my tire. When buying my truck I read about the spare tire removal so I'd know where all is back there. QSilver7 also explains well for those who dont know about the band to help the tire out. Make sure the tailgate is upward at least a little so u cam latch the band onto it. My band was stuck as I read some might be. Stuck behind the jack so I had my strong son to pull it out after lifting the tire. To fix the tire belt helper I actually rolled out the slide out cargo tray and went to the back seat, let it down and corrected the belt. Now its not stuck and I can easily slide my spare tire in and out. The dome and how to remove the battery I learned already on youtube. Had to remove all 4 bolts on the black dome and the battery post will seem stuck but very light wiggle while pulling up will remove it. Remove the neg (black) post 1st, then the red. You dont have to remove the nuts on the battery just loosen them. Replace battery placing the pos (red) side back on 1st then the neg (black) last. Everything else is history. Just place it all back. 4 nuts to the black dome or 2 if u only removed 2. Hope this helps further for anyone stuck. Again, thanks to QSilver7 for being so kind with all his help and info..

Just had a similar experience. My husband removed the battery yesterday and luckily left all the covers etc out of the X5, went to put new battery in this morning and the tailgate had locked, the doors were unlocked so we simply put the rear seat down and put the battery in, hooked it up and opened the tailgate to finish the job.

I now know how to open it the right way next time. THANK YOU QSilver7, your knowledge and readiness to help is extremely appreciated.